Figure 1) Current SST, SSTA Conditions and Shipping Route Information.


The tabs below show the daily 5km SST and SST anomalies (SSTA) for 2024-07-04.

Current conditions are based on the latest remotely sensed data from NOAA Coral Reef Watch. For comparison, the SSTA conditions are also shown for exactly 1 year prior (2023-07-04).

The light green lines and ship icon represent the 2024 route for the ship of opportunity.

For comparison, the dark green lines represent the location the 2023 shipping route. The dark green icon represents the location of turtle release on July 10, 2023.

The current SST at last year’s release location is: 18.94°C. This 2024 SST value is 2.39°C warmer than the long-term average.

In 2023, SSTs at the release location were 4.67°C warmer than the long-term average.

The 4 circles represent longitudes of interest across the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Figure 2 shows a time series of SST conditions at these 4 longitudes. Black lines represent the 18°C isotherm. The Thermal Corridor area is outlined in white.

Current SST Conditions: 2024


Current SST Anomalies: 2024


Previous Year’s SST Anomalies: 2023



Figure 2) Average SST time series.

Weekly and long-term average sea surface temperatures at 4 longitudes in the eastern North Pacific (160W, 150W, 145W, 140W).

For each longitude, the darker lines with circles represent the weekly SST average since 2023.

To compare the current SST values (2023-present) with the long-term average for the same time period, the lighter solid lines represent the long-term monthly SST averages between 1997-2022.

The black horizontal line at 18°C was used as a reference for optimal temperatures during turtle release.

## [1] "publish date-time: 2024-07-06 10:30:55 Pacific/Auckland"